Brazil has three new areas recognized as Ramsar sites

The title seals the commitment of Ramsar convention signatory

Published on 23/03/2018 - 16:00 By Agência Brasil - Brasília

Brazil has recognized three wetland areas as Ramsar sites—an initiative aimed at fostering protection and sustainability of water habitats across the world. The territories that received the title were the Fernando de Noronha National Sea Park; the Negro river basin, on the Amazon river; and the swamps near the mouth of the Amazon river.

The announcement was made Thursday (Mar. 22) by Cláudio Moretti, director at the Department for Socio-environmental and Territorial Consolidation Actions of the Chico Mendes Biodiversity Institute (ICMBio), during a special session of the 8th World Water Forum. With the addition of these three sites to the 22 existing ones, Brazil is the country with the largest total extension of Ramsar sites, a title created by the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, more popularly known as Ramsar Convention, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971. The convention was brought into effect in 1975 and has been signed by 169 countries.

The recognition helps these regions forge new partnerships and cooperation deals, and garner support for research and funding for projects on the preservation and conservation of the environment.

Moretti said that Brazil is expected to enhance its management of water resources in conservation units. “Attaining recognition is not enough; we must understand how to manage these areas in order to meet the protection goals of these wetland territories of international importance. This means it’s an opportunity to use the Ramsar convention to improve our basic knowledge and our practice regarding how to create and administer areas protected in the context of fresh-water bodies of water,” Moretti said.

Biomes

During the session, a number of challenges in the protection of Brazilian biomes were brought to debate. In the Amazon, in addition to anti-deforestation efforts, one of the biggest difficulties is the management of water resources, due both to the size of the basin and to the fact that it belongs to different countries.

“Being represented by the several actors with decision-making power in the basin is a great challenge,” said Nayandra Kellen Pereira, a representative from the Innovative Solutions Program at the Amazon Sustainable Foundation. In her opinion, alternatives must be found for the country’s existing basin management model, like the formation of committees for microbasins.

Pereira also stressed the need to invest in the people and the traditional knowledge of the Amazon. “These people have the knowledge about the real problems; they’re the best people who can protect these areas. Investing in these people, and granting them access to public policies and quality of life are crucial for them not to wish to do any further deforestation,” she argued.

The expert went on to say that the Amazon plays a key role in the humidity of all of South America. Every day, 20 billion tons of water vapor are discharged into the forest. “This is more than we have in the basin itself,” she said.

The Pantanal

Today, the biggest threats facing Brazil’s tropical wetlands—the Pantanal—are the possible construction of new water plants and a new Paraná–Paraguay waterway, which is currently in its licensing phase.

“The community has already stood up against it, as it knows what the Pantanal’s flooding course represents. Without the river’s winding course, and if the channel becomes deeper, there will be no Pantanal left,” said Professor Solange Castrillon, from the State University of Mato Grosso.

The country’s energy plan includes 100 new small water plants to be built in the region, she said.

“The government must realize that the planned installation of these water plants, as is the case with the Paraná–Paraguay waterway, will make the Pantanal inviable. We’re not dealing with an isolated biome; there’s a connection between the biomes—the Cerrado, the Pantanal, the Atlantic Forest,” the expert remarked.


Translated by Fabrício Ferreira


Fonte: Brazil has three new areas recognized as Ramsar sites

Edition: Nira Foster

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